


nine circles

by leovaldez



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Book 4: The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus), Canon-Typical Violence, Dorks, Friendship/Love, Injury, M/M, Minor Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Not Canon Compliant - The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus), POV Multiple, Tartarus, the lost trio
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:34:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25083964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leovaldez/pseuds/leovaldez
Summary: Jason and Leo fall into Tartarus instead of Percy and Annabeth. Their experience is… interesting.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase & Jason Grace & Percy J. & Hazel Levesque & Piper McLean & Leo Valdez & Frank Zhang, Jason Grace & Leo Valdez, Jason Grace & Piper McLean & Leo Valdez, Jason Grace/Leo Valdez
Comments: 18
Kudos: 116





	nine circles

**Author's Note:**

  * For [earlyssunsets](https://archiveofourown.org/users/earlyssunsets/gifts).



> started as some silly quick pieces on tumblr, [courtesy of a post](https://bunkernine.tumblr.com/post/622484680827076608/this-literally-wasnt-even-my-post-to-begin-with) from wren. [then nina drew art. ](https://silima.tumblr.com/post/622557401868075008) then anons talked to me. then i rushed to write something... this is in fact the thing where i kept pushing a deadline on :(

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason deals with some complications with falling in Tartarus.

It was hot.

Free-falling down Tartarus was taking longer than he expected. When Leo had burned through the webbing around Annabeth’s ankle and tripped into Tartarus, Jason instinctively leaped to save his best friend. He thought he would be able to fly them out, but the pressure slammed down on him, disorienting Jason until they were falling for eternity.

It reminded him of that sea monster he fought. Tartarus, or at least the rabbit hole they were descending down, was humid and wet. Jason’s head screamed from the compacted air. As a son of Jupiter, this wasn’t his territory. He prayed that wouldn’t become a problem.

“Dude,” Leo whined. Earlier, he had been gripping Jason’s arm with a steel grip, but now they were holding hands like they were skipping through a meadow. “How long has it been? Call me when we go _splat_.”

There was a good chance that they _could_ go splat, but it was hard to tell- Tartarus seemed endless. He was starting to realize that he hadn’t gotten to the heart of this place, but already it was torturing them. Jason tried to manipulate the air around them, but it wasn’t working.

“Can you build something?” He suggested. It was too dark to see anything- Jason never encountered pitch-black like this.

“ _Now?_ ”

“Yeah, now.” Jason pulled Leo closer. “Use your toolbelt. I’m sure you can think of something- unless you _want_ to become a Leo-pancake for the monsters.”

He could just imagine the way Leo’s lips were surely twitching. Jason seized hold of Leo’s waist instead. Then there was a flicker of a flame from a cupped palm, and Leo’s hands began to move as he got to work.

As Leo fiddled with something Jason didn’t know, he began to wonder if they really _were_ going to die. He couldn’t use his powers now, but he wasn’t sure if that was from the fight. Being knocked around was quickly becoming less fun for Jason.

Still. There was the other matter.

Tartarus felt unnatural. He felt weak, like something or some _one_ was pressing down on his body and making gravity feel ten times heavier. He guessed it could be him staying underground for who knows how long, but it could also be that someone like him shouldn’t be somewhere like this. Jason, a son of Jupiter, wasn’t made for this.

A light began to glow below them, it’s reddish gleam welcoming the two. Now that Jason could see better, he had a pretty good guess of what Leo was making. However, he also had a pretty good guess that they were going to slam into the ground in a few minutes.

“Leo,” Jason breathed. “Not trying to rush you, but you have about two minutes.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Leo snapped together two bars of metal. “You think you can give me a boost- whoa.”

Whoa was correct. Their hole opened to a massive cavern in a world of its own. The smell hit them full-force: the stench of death and suffering, while the scarlet-tinted realm was tainted with a thick mist of something sickening. Leo clicked together the fabric and gripped the mini bar that now hung between his hands.

“ _Got it_ ,” Leo announced, voice getting high. “Uh, give me a boost before we splatter.”

“I can’t,” Jason panicked, the ground now coming close.

“What do-” Leo looked at him over his shoulder. They were cutting it close here, real close. “JASON.” Leo began cursing _very_ loudly.

Jason tried what he usually did. His powers came from shaping the air around him. Typically it wasn’t when falling with a giant headache and carrying his best friend. He concentrated less on the sound his body would make slapping across the jagged rocks- the sickening thud of flesh being impaled- and more on the wind whistling in his ears. It worked- barely.

Leo’s homemade hang glider took up the pathetic burst of air that Jason provided, and they barely skimmed over a river and then over a cliff. It wasn’t enough, though. Leo choked out a surprised noise, and Jason held on tighter.

They were barely flying. Falling, albeit with help. Curving past jutting points and inky black rivers, Jason and Leo were quickly heading downward. It wasn’t the same speed as they were beforehand, though, which was good, but Jason didn’t want to risk it. Whatever spurt of power had been pushed out of him seemed to be the last of it. The floor was rapidly approaching.

Then something dark and quick bulleted at them. It slashed across the fabric, and they dropped.

“Hold on,” Jason yelled in Leo’s ear and tucked Leo’s head into his chest as the two of them fell and tumbled across the sand. Leo’s battered glider wrapped around them, and they kept rolling and rolling until they slammed into a pile of boulders.

Jason cried out in pain from hurling into the rock. His head lolled on his shoulder, everything hurting. The last thing he saw was crimson blood glinting across glass as his vision blurred out to black.

* * *

When he came to, he was dripping wet. Jason gasped, then clenched his head between his hands. The pressure he had been feeling during their descent had intensified tenfold. It was like he was in a nutcracker, slowly growing tighter and higher.

Leo stood over him, covered with scratches and blood, but damp. At Jason’s look, Leo sheepishly tossed the water bottle to the side. The water that spilled out evaporated into rotten-egg smelling vapor.

“You were covered in boils and heating up,” Leo told him.

Jason stumbled to his feet. He felt like he had been hit by a truck and run over a few more times for good measure. “You’re covered in boils too.”

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Leo observed the blood-stained sky, and the black pointed rocks. The rest of the world was a desolate gray wasteland. He began picking at glass shards from his arms. “So this place is a dump. Where’s the valet service?”

He handed Jason a piece of ambrosia. Jason chewed on it, but his wounds didn’t seem to get better. A growl echoed from far-away- or maybe extremely close. It was hard to tell. Leo stiffened, and Jason palmed the gladius at his side. His eyes strained to see the nightmarish hellscape they stumbled into. A few hundred feet was the edge of a cliff, looking over the deeper part of Tartarus.

“We should start moving,” Jason murmured. “Find something before it finds us.”

“Yeah,” Leo agreed, voice tight. “Let’s go.”

They moved slowly. Every step was agonizing. Jason was beginning to realize why Tartarus was hell, even for monsters. He could feel his skin blistering and popping, and his chest felt like it was being crushed under a weight. Leo walked beside him, scarily quiet. He kept looking up at the sky as if it was a bad omen. It probably was.

The edge of the rocks dipped down into more jagged stone and sharp glass. Any wrong move would slice them to bits. Jason tried not to show his irritation. He held out his hand. “I can fly us down.”

Leo didn’t move as he peered over. “I know. But why?”

“Why?”

“Yeah,” Leo’s face was swollen. “What’s the point? We don’t know where we’re going, and we don’t know what could help us. Maybe we should wait for help.”

“Help?” Something small skittered past them. A bug, maybe, with bird wings and a long tail. “I don’t think anyone’s coming to find us.”

“It just seems very-” Leo winced, “hopeless.”

Jason stuck out his hand again. “You shouldn’t think like that. We don’t know that yet. It’s better to keep moving and see what could happen.”

“Hmm,” Leo hummed, looking out at the landscape again. “There’s a river.” He pointed across the ravine, where a reddish line snaked across the abyss. “Rivers are safe, right? I wasn’t a Boy Scout, but something’s telling me that rivers are a good plan. Even if they’re made out of fire.”

“A river of fire,” Jason said. Something about that sounded familiar. His mind could barely piece together bits of information told to him from the elder centurions during lessons as a kid. He should’ve paid more attention. “Is fire ever good?”

“Gee, thanks, man.” Leo didn’t look that offended, but thoughtful. He scratched at his face and neck, clearly in pain. “There was a story about a fire river. Ow. I can’t remember if the story said to drink the fire and not die an awful death or _don’t_ drink the fire and not die an awful death.”

“Fifty-fifty is better than nothing,” Jason murmured. “River of fire it is.”

“Yay. River of fun.” Leo took his hand, and they stepped to the edge of the rocks. Jason hesitantly strode forward over the end, his foot looking for the solid air he usually created. It was faint, but he could barely produce a steady footfall. Keeping a neutral face, he pushed off and then helped Leo down with him. They slowly drifted down the cliff’s edge.

“Top 10 Worst Vacation Spots,” Leo murmured. “If we make it out of here, do you want to go somewhere?”

Spider-like creatures scattered across the cliff, poison dripping from their mouths, and bright red eyes watching them. They appeared in clumps, bursting out of yolky sacs sticking to the cliff wall. Bubbles rupturing, steam billowing, the yellowing boils would burst and send the next wave of spiders in a continuous birth. Jason kept his concentration as they hissed at the two demigods.

“We could go to Mexico,” Leo mused. He wrapped his arm around Jason’s and sighed. “How does Aruba sound? Or Hawaii.”

“Maybe not somewhere hot,” Jason said. As they descended, the heaviness in his chest grew more forceful. The mist thickened the deeper they went, burning across Jason’s skin in angry hot rashes and puss-filled boils. He was starting to lose his hold on the air. The world was dense with misery and pain.

Hitting the ground, Jason stumbled.

“You alright?” Leo frowned.

“Yeah,” Jason’s breathing came out rough. “We still need to make it to the river.”

They decided to run to the best of their abilities. The ground crunched underneath them, bits of broken glass and squishy spots that Jason was too grossed out to think about. Rushing in a blazing red and orange path, the river of fire glared at them with intense heat. GO AWAY, is all Jason understood.

Leo crouched by the fire. Before Jason could say something, he ran his fingers against the river’s edge. Leo turned his head and shrugged at him. “So, do you want a cup, or do you want to drink animal style?” He pulled a metal thermos from his tool belt and dipped it in the fire.

The thermos melted. Leo blinked at his now empty hand. “Never mind.”

“We shouldn’t be doing this then,” Jason said. Except Leo, being Leo, dunked his head in the fire. Jason reached for his collar and tugged him back. “What the _he-”_

“It’s spicy,” Leo licked his now blister-free lips. He looked like he came back from a spa, skin cleared, eyes alight with life. Going through his tool belt, Leo started pulling out various containers. “I’m going to see if we can take this as a to-go order. You should probably get some before you die, Jason.” Leo nodded toward the fire. “It tastes like a margarita.”

Jason warily approached the bright fire. Leo wouldn’t have been affected- he was non-flammable. But his blisters and the pain in his voice faded, so perhaps it meant something. Jason was starting to _really_ wish he paid more attention. Jason knelt by the river and bowed his head.

It _was_ spicy- but a type of hotness that Jason had never confronted and was unaware existed. His tongue felt aflame, and his stomach boiled into ash. He jerked back, mouth dry like sand and eyes watering, choking out flames.

For a moment, Jason spasmed on the ground, not able to breathe.

Then it passed, and Jason was fine. Coughing into his elbow, Jason fell back onto his bottom, his cuts healing speedily. Some of the pressure against him was alleviated, but his lungs remained weak. Leo snickered, testing out a Chinese takeout box in the fire.

“How do you know what a margarita tastes like?” Jason eventually croaked out.

Leo’s held a red plastic cup. “I assumed that’s what it tasted like. Like, salty and a pinch of something else.”

“A pinch of death.”

“Yeah, that and some lime.” Leo tried a Gatorade water bottle. He snorted as it filled up. “Looks like we have a winner. I’m going to fill up a few, and then we can go.” A shadow flashed behind him. Jason sprang to his feet, gladius in hand.

“I don’t think you have that luxury,” Jason said. His muscles tensed. Something black and fuzzy jumped at him, and Jason’s sword was swinging before he could think. Gold dust exploded on him, the world halted. He was unsettled by the silence. Something was coming- he knew that much, but as to what, he feared to say.

“Okay,” Leo capped another water bottle and slid it into his tool belt. “I filled three. We should stick nearby, though. Just in case.”

Jason didn’t put his weapon away yet. “We don’t know where we’re going yet.”

“Can’t we camp out here?” Leo dusted off his pants as he stood. He unbuttoned his long-sleeve shirt, exposing an orange Camp-Half Blood shirt. Jason’s skin prickled at the sight. It was so… bright. Extremely recognizable.

“Maybe you shouldn’t show that,” Jason gestured. He was wearing a blue t-shirt. “Just in case.”

“Huh?” Leo looked down. “Oh,” He rebuttoned his shirt and sighed. “I wish that Di Angelo kid was here. He’d be able to scare away all the monsters from us.”

“Hey.”

“Kidding,” Leo rolled his eyes. His hands went to adjust his tool belt, and then he pulled out a pack of Tic-Tacs. “We can’t go back the way we came though,” Leo offered him some of the mints, shaking the container as he thought. “The Doors of Death, right? That’s a landmark we can find. Shouldn’t be hard to see a pair of doors here.”

Jason bit into a mint. “All I see is dirt, fire, and fog.”

“Thanks for the observation, buddy,” Leo snorted. “If I were the Doors of Death, where would I be?”

A swift blur slithered across the sand in the corner of Jason’s eye. Whatever it was, a car-sized lizard-looking monster gobbled it up. The reptile blinked its eyes at the two and darted away. Jason was wondering just how much attention the two of them were drawing to themselves. A son of Jupiter or Hephaestus in Tartarus probably wasn’t a regular sight.

The hairs on the back of Jason's neck began to rise. When he turned around, he couldn’t see anyone there but the gaping caves and angry streaks of red across the sky. Jason’s grip tightened on his sword.

“We should go somewhere safe,” Jason advised. “Once we set camp, we could figure things out.”

Leo smiled grimly. “Sure. Aye, aye, captain.” Jason was merely relieved that Leo agreed, and they started jogging along the river.

* * *

Tartarus was expansive, from what Jason could see. Monsters were littering the wasteland, eating, or being eaten. For some reason, they paid little attention to Jason and Leo, despite the two demigods being a bright neon sign saying EAT ME! TWO FOR ONE DEAL! GREEK AND ROMAN!

Malevolence. The air was laced with it. Jason didn't think fear could be so _palpable._ There were creatures in the sky, black dots circling like vulcans anticipating the kill. 

He remembered something Frank once told him about animals. They were good at differentiating between predator and prey. Sensing predator cues, hiding when knowing they're food. What Jason couldn’t figure out was if the monsters were scared to draw near because the demigods were a threat, or if it was something else- something worse than the monsters was stalking them. He shoved the thought down and focused on pumping his legs.

It was a given, but Jason really didn’t like Tartarus. His movements felt sluggish, and his powers were stilted. It was as if he was underwater- underground, technically- but he was teased in the subtlest way to create torture. Leo didn’t look so affected. Jason was sure it had to do with being a child of the sky, but it could’ve been Tartarus itself. His bones were curling with tendrils of something dark, pulling at him to sink into the floor and die.

He sent countless monsters here. Jason just never thought he would be here too.

“I _can’t_ -” Leo panted, doubling over. Jason caught his breath next to him. It was hard to run when the air was acid, and they were lost. They stayed at the mouth of a cave, resting against the wall. It was warm and soft. Pulsating. Jason tried not to think about what that could mean. “I vote we rest here for the night.”

“Second that,” Jason slumped to the ground. They decided not to go too far into the cave. Leo tried wandering down with a flashlight, but the darkness seemed impenetrable, and he came back with an irritated look.

Leo didn’t set up a fire, nor did Jason ask. They didn’t want to attract anything toward them. They sat together, eating raisins and energy bars from Leo’s toolbelt. Jason didn’t realize how hungry he was until he engulfed two bars whole. Leo looked amused, but nibbled alone, with his legs folded up to his chest. Jason’s gladius sat in between them, the gold reflecting from the nearby glowing river of fire.

“I miss Annabeth,” Leo murmured. “I wish she was here. Or even Frank. He’s fun to mess with.”

Jason wiped his crumbs away. “Annabeth?”

Leo shrugged. “She would know what to do. I don’t know anything about Tartarus, but she probably does.”

“She knows a lot about the gods,” Jason agreed. “I wish Piper was here.”

“ _Obviously._ I thought that went without saying.”

“I wanted to say it.”

“Jason, you’re so dumb.” Leo sniffed. He dropped his head down on his knees and let out a deep exhale. “Wow. Can’t even make a joke right now. Guess we’re in deep-” Leo picked up his head. “Pun unintended.”

“We can figure it out,” Jason told him. Outside of the cave, the sky grew darker, a cursed mimicry of sunset when there was no sun. Jason didn’t want to know what that meant- in the mortal world, when it went dark, the monsters came out to play. They were only skating by on luck so far. Luck runs out.

“This is all my fault,” Leo mumbled. “Sorry, you’re stuck with me, Jason.”

Surprised with that, Jason's brows creased in confusion. He hadn’t accused anyone yet, but the blame would be placed on Arachne if he were to. “It’s not your fault, Leo. You didn’t think that you’d be pulled down instead.” Leo’s gaze averted to the ground, but he didn’t say anything. “If Annabeth was here, she’d be thankful,” Jason assured him.

Leo didn’t elaborate. Standing up, he walked toward the mouth of the cave. “I’ll take first watch,” Leo murmured. “You did a lot today. Get some rest.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” Leo’s tone was harsh, and his stance was sealed off. “I can handle a few hours.”

Jason didn’t want to leave Leo alone, but after the boy mentioned it, Jason could feel his exhaustion from the past hours- or perhaps the past few days- overwhelming him. He leaned against the wall, ignoring the squishiness, but the warmth emanating from the cave quickly lulled him to sleep anyway.

* * *

Jason was looking up at the sky. Bright blue and clear. He sat up and almost screamed. He was on a grassy hill, and in the pit below was a battlefield painted with blood and riddled with bones. Glorious bronze and golden weapons glittered like treasure ready for the taking. 

A woman was sitting next to him, cloaked and weeping into her hands. Flowers woven into her hair, clothes of mossy roots digging underground. Jason’s gaze flickered past her, and his breath caught.

Piper. He averted his eyes, but his mind already memorized the slit, the blood pouring out her throat, mouth drawn out into an eternal scream.

Open. Wordless. He couldn’t speak. Jason was forced to watch clouds drift by as this woman cried, and his friends were strewn across the battleground. They were all covered in shimmering golden dust, sparkling as if their bodies weren’t convoluted, as if their blood didn’t soak into the soil, as if they were nothing but pretty shapes to look at. Jason’s anger was unrivaled, but the skies were too blue. Too clear.

The woman sniffled. Wiped her face with the back of her hand. Then she looked up to Jason, her eyes empty holes of rot and decay, dizzy and luminescent gold spilling out in tears. She mouthed something Jason couldn’t understand, something that made him draw his sword, and then-

He was in a workshop. Jason couldn’t recognize it. It was dark and crowded, but cozy. All types of knick-knacks on the shelves and papers everywhere. Jason heard a giggle, and there was a small boy. All curly hair, big dark eyes, youthful brown skin. There was a woman too- older than both boys, but young in a sense.

Jason didn’t know what he was supposed to be looking at. He looked around, but there were no clues. The woman from the fields was gone too.

He regretted not paying attention, because it got hot _fast_. A fire. Blazing. Jason didn’t know what happened, but the room was engulfed in dense black smoke, and his body was melting. Someone was sobbing. Someone else was screaming. Jason began to scream too, feeling his flesh burn and his blood boil. He could only scream-

Except he was now falling. In the sky, arms heavy with a crying Piper. Jason’s vision was flickering in and out, blacking out. He couldn’t be falling- this was _his_ territory. It didn’t make sense.

Something big- huge- and loud and fiery zipped past him, burning his ear and hair. He looked up, only to get blinded by an explosion of red and gold. Piper’s wailings were the last thing he heard as they plummeted out of the sky. He was going to crash into the Earth and Piper would scream, and Jason’s body began to heat up again as he-

Jason shouted, sitting up. He didn’t know what he yelled, but he frantically patted at his body, checking for something because he _knew_ that he just lost something, but he couldn’t say what.

Leo looked surprised to see him. In his hands was a small sphere wrapped in slowly twisting metallic rings. Jason breathed in relief, happy to find neither him nor his friend dead. Peeling off the wall, now slick with something alike to sweat, Jason rubbed his face, calming down.

“Bad dream?” Leo didn’t sound like he was teasing, and for that, Jason was grateful.

“Something like that,” Jason said. He probably wouldn’t be able to sleep again for a while. “You can rest if you want.”

Leo shrugged. “I’m good.” He flicked his wrist, and the sphere stopped spinning. It collapsed in itself, falling into a small circle about the size of a pin button. “Ugh,” Leo frowned. He slid the object into his toolbelt and looked at Jason. “Ready to go?”

They wandered by the river, slowly pacing along the decline. A storm was brewing ahead, the clouds condensing together in murky black clumps across the sky. Typically, Jason could tell when the weather would change. This felt different- whatever weather system that occurred in Tartarus was utterly alien to Jason. He could guess what was going to happen as much as Leo could.

In addition to the bizarro weather, Jason was unnerved by his dream. Demigod dreams were typically prophetic, but what about the ones in Tartarus? Were those nightmares influenced by this place or realistic?

“For a home of monsters, there’s a lot of things not trying to kill us,” Leo murmured.

Jason still felt like they were being followed. They continued down the wasteland, mindful of the small creatures running past them. “Maybe you jinxed it.”

“Nah,” Leo said. “They’re probably waiting for us at the doors with bibs tied around their necks. We’ve killed some bad people, and it’s weird that they wouldn’t come for us.”

Jason pressed his lips together. Leo’s gotten rid of a few monsters in the past few months, but Jason’s list was _endless_. He had a Titan to his name, multiple giants, and innumerable others. Jason bristled, thinking about Krios regenerating here, his nose remembering the burnt smell of charred flesh from when Jason blasted the Titan down. He could be down here, hunting them, anticipating his revenge.

“How long do you think it’s been?” Jason changed the conversation.

Leo shook his head. “About a week or two. When’d we fall?”

“July 1st,” Jason said. “Happy birthday me.”

“It was your birthday?” Leo asked, puzzled. “How come you didn’t tell anyone?”

Jason flushed, “I told Piper. We were eating cake before Annabeth and Percy… you know.”

“I like cake. I like being told when it’s my best friend’s birthday too.”

Jason reddened at that. They _were_ best friends, but it was so rare for Leo to admit it- the guy hardly left the control room or boiler room most days, so this was nice. Jason didn’t think it would take a trip to Hell for it to come out, though. “I didn’t know it was my birthday until last month. I wasn’t planning on celebrating it.”

“Well, happy birthday,” Leo’s face scrunched up. “Oh, wait. That means my birthday passed too.”

Jason stopped walking. “You’re a hypocrite! You didn’t tell anyone that.”

Leo grinned at him. “It didn’t matter. I also didn’t know for sure because I couldn’t remember when we fell.”

“Why didn’t you-” Jason was interrupted by a loud growl. He and Leo jumped close, back-to-back, eyes scattering to the side. He couldn’t see anything besides gray and red. “What was that?”

“Uh dude,” Leo elbowed him, and Jason turned. “Is that a lion, or am I going crazy?”

Leo was, in fact, not crazy. A lion, about the 10 times their size was leaning up on its hind legs, staring down at them from a cliffside with teeth bared. Its luminous fur was matted with a sticky dark sludge. Golden like the sun, the fur tried to shine through. Jason drew out his sword.

“Why the heck are there just lions running around here,” Leo bemoaned. He pulled out a knife as well as the circle from earlier from his toolbelt. The lion jumped down several hundred feet, slowly walking forward and circling them. “I can’t believe we got trapped in a zoo.”

“Leo,” Jason warned.

“Yeah?”

“You talk too much.”

“Noted.”

The lion’s eyes were an icy blue. They were nearly hypnotizing as the animal stalked closer. Jason braced for an attack. His mind mentally flickered over lore, trying to recall when a several-ton lion appeared in the Roman mythos. It was something _very_ familiar- it had to do with Jason. A son of Jupiter.

Something was off, though. As the lion grew closer, it also grew… smaller? Leo snorted and relaxed a little. Jason kept his weapon in hand, not sure what to think. Was this a trap? The lion- cub?- passed by their feet, reaching about the height of their hips. It didn’t seem that harmful up close.

“Hercules,” Jason realized. “This is the Nemean Lion.”

“The who?” Leo hesitantly stepped back from the animal. The lion hissed at them, then bent down to the river.

“Hercules had to do several tasks. One of them was to get the lion’s animal pelt.” The short fur glimmered like solid gold. “It’s impossible to kill.”

“Well, someone must’ve killed it recently.” Leo fished through his toolbelt. He pulled out a handful of raw meat, and the lion’s head perked up. It watched the juice trickle down Leo’s arm with rabid interest. Leo threw the meat away from them, and the lion pounced. Leo tugged on Jason’s sleeve. “Let’s get out of here before it wants a bigger and _human_ meal.”

They sprinted, Jason with his sword out in case there were more. From what he remembered, there was only one Nemean Lion, but animals- and monsters- traveled in packs. 

“What was that?” Jason asked.

“Oh, that? Tofu. It just looked like beef. That took a lot of energy,” Leo patted his toolbelt. “We’ll have to survive without this baby for a bit. Hopefully, the lion doesn’t come back.”

Jason glanced behind them. “Uh. Guess again, Leo.”

“You’re kidding,” Leo stopped and turned around entirely. “You’re _kidding_.”

* * *

They named the lion _Nemea_ after his birthplace. Jason determined it to be only slightly horrifying that he was walking around hell with Leo and a lion that would not hesitate to rip them apart. The only reason the lion chose not to was that he had developed a taste for tofu and kept nosing at Leo’s toolbelt with curiosity.

“If this stupid cat doesn’t stop hitting my butt,” Leo grumbled. Nemea trotted behind Leo, licking his lips and staring at the toolbelt like it might devour it then and now.

Jason stayed wary. The lion looked younger than how he pictured it from the myths. There wasn’t the full mane that a king of the jungle would typically don, making them believe that the lion was in a terrifyingly huge ‘cub’ phase, and was still regenerating. Jason did not want to find out just how big this lion could be.

He wondered if Annabeth and Percy knew anything about this. It would be ironic if they were the ones to last kill the lion, but Jason’s never seen either of them with the pelt. He briefly remembered a few Romans, maybe about three years ago, searching for the lion for its hide and coming back ashamed and empty-handed. Jason’s hand almost reached out to pet the golden fur. It was impervious to all attacks.

The Romans were in love with that sort of thing. He wasn’t chosen for that quest because they trusted it with Second Cohort legionnaires. This was after Jason got bumped down to the fifth cohort for his failures. He palmed the handle of his gladius. A prize like that would’ve made the Senate reconsider their decision.

“I was thinking,” Leo spoke up again. “You know that line in the prophecy? The one that’s about-” Leo cut himself off and merely gestured between them.

“We don’t know if that’s really about us,” Jason said.

“Well, you or Percy are storm, but I’m definitely fire,” Leo waved away Nemea. “What’s the line? _To storm or fire, they will fall?_ Isn’t it ironic that it’s us then? The prophecy’s in full swing.”

“ _To storm or fire, the world must fall_ ,” Jason corrected. They jumped when the world shook with a loud clap of thunder. Jason eyes the sky suspiciously at the slowly brewing storm ahead. He didn’t think it was going to rain, however.

“Oh,” Leo mused on that for a moment, and then- “It’s still ironic. Or like, a sign or something. You’re storm, and I’m fire. Maybe it was supposed to happen. Us, um, falling down here.”

Jason didn’t like the sound of that. “The world will fall… Like our world?”

“It could be referring to Dirt Face there, though,” Leo’s fingers slipped into his pants pocket and pulled out a couple of paperclips. “But something’s coming later, and it’s up to us. ‘I saved the world at 16’ would be a cute bumper sticker. You’d have like, five of them, though.”

Jason laughed. “You can’t even drive.”

“Can _you?_ I have the Argo to my name, and you have a horse that hates you.”

“He doesn’t hate me-” Jason started, but Leo’s raised eyebrow made him stop. “Okay,” Jason chuckled. “He might hate me.” Jason briefly wondered if he could call Tempest. Was it worth the risk? A storm spirit might not make it to Tartarus but could attract unwanted attention as well.

Leo flicked a pipe cleaner into the river. They listened to the crackle of the flames and inhaled the thick smell of ash. “I wish Festus was here. I miss that guy. He was hilarious. Buford had a potty mouth, though, and he’s ignoring me.”

“Why is he ignoring you?”

“I forgot to clean up a juice stain. He’s so moody.”

Jason laughed again. “Why are your creations so human-like? They all have emotions and do weird things.”

“Sometimes they’re better to deal with than people,” Leo shrugged, and then looked up from his hands. His eyebrows furrowed, and he coughed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean that. You and Piper are cool.”

“It’s alright,” Jason murmured. “Not everyone is a people-person. I wish I could get away sometimes too.”

Leo studied his expression for a second. It was uncommon to see him with such a serious look. Over the past few weeks on the Argo, in the rare moments Jason’s catches a glimpse of his best friend, he was running around doing repairs, or making fun of Frank. There was something... _Roman_ to Leo, sometimes. This seriousness was an example. Jason was reminded of the sullen looks the Vulcan children shared and the solemn frowns of the Senate.

He was also, in some way, reminded of Reyna.

They came to a split in the river. In front of them, the storm raged on, blackening out most of the sky. The grey wasteland, which had already loomed ominously before, was blanketed with a sinister shadow. Jason could pick out blurry dots moving across the landscape, and he realized that the luck they were riding on was starting to run out.

Nemea hissed at the clouds and dashed away from them towards spiked rocks. Jason and Leo exchanged a glance. And then it started to rain.

At first, Jason was happy to embrace something other than the corrosive air or the stiff dryness in his throat from drinking from the fire river. Then he felt it. Of course.

The rain crashed down on them as liquid acid. Jason’s flesh felt like it was melting off his bones. It burned worse than the healing fire and came down like sharp needles. Leo yelped and ran toward the rocks by Nemea, his jacket now held over his head. “ _JASON HURRY UP!”_ Leo called out in the haze over the sound of rain. Jason used what he could of his powers to create a cover with the air.

He flew, grabbed Leo, and darted to Nemea. He wasn’t strong enough to keep them safe, so the acid rain beat at his legs. Jason groaned, dropping Leo, and tumbling into a pile of rocks. The thunder boomed around them, the terrain trembling under its might.

Leo sat up, yanking his limbs away from where they stuck out in the rain. He was covered in painful-looking pockmarks and bloodied clothes. Nemea sniffed at him with interest but jumped at more thunder. Leo crawled to Jason, digging in his toolbelt for a familiar-looking Gatorade bottle.

Jason weakly lifted his head, letting Leo pour that cursed river into his mouth. His wounds began to smoke, and Leo drank some then wrestled with Nemea to pour some of the fire in the lion’s mouth. Jason settled, letting out a ragged breath. Weak. His fingers trembled.

He still felt weak. Usually, a storm would’ve made Jason feel better. He liked them, though how much of that being Jason and how much of that being a Jupiter thing, was questionable. But storms typically reverberated with an energy that refreshed him. This storm... it was like Jason’s nerves had been snipped. Cut off, sliced, numbed. He couldn’t feel anything.

Jason hated this powerless feeling. He could barely protect himself, let alone Leo. Jason’s entire life had been him _protecting_. What good would it be if he couldn’t do that?

They rested for hours- time was strange here- listening to the world-shaking thunder and toxic rainfall hitting the cliffs. Nemea purred to sleep in front of them, Leo petting behind the lion’s ears. Leo’s jacket was burned to shreds, his orange Camp Half-Blood tee blinding Jason, bringing up nausea.

Jason’s own jean legs were coming apart. He folded them up to his shins and left it alone. Across the ground, they watched monsters bubble up from the crevices of the floor, rebirthing into a world that destroyed them again. A monster would burst from its sac, and then explode into dust when the rain hit. It was gratuitously cruel. Jason… he felt _bad_.

He wasn’t causing the weather, but it seemed wrong that these beasts lived in such unrelenting conditions. He was starting to understand why they would come up to the mortal world so often. Jason wouldn’t want to live here either.

“- crying,” Leo was murmuring to himself.

“What? Who’s crying?” Jason asked, concerned. Leo wasn’t teary-eyed, but he definitely looked exhausted. Right- Jason had been able to sleep, but Leo decided not to.

Leo drummed his fingers on his knees. “Tartarus. This place is like, some dude, right? Maybe he’s crying. All these monsters he’s birthing keep dying, but it only makes things worse when he cries over it. Endless cycle. Everything’s a cycle when it comes to demigods.”

“Huh.” Jason thought about it. He was cognizant that Tartarus was some sort of primordial entity, the same way Terra was both a deity and the Earth, or Nox was both the night and divine. “I didn’t think of it that way.”

“I’m trying not to,” Leo confessed. “But it’s hard when the ground feels like skin and monsters pop out of pimples.”

Jason tried to picture a guy with giant pimples that gruesome and gnarled creatures broke from, but he was too disgusted with the image to continue. He sat back on his hands, thinking. “Ah,” Jason said. “That’s probably why she’s upset.”

“She?” Leo’s looked at him, confused. Jason watched it click in his eyes. “Oh. Her.” They didn’t need to say it.

Jason nodded. “She has to stay quiet and watch us kill her children. And then humans have been destroying her body for millennia. I would be irritated too.”

“Yeah,” Leo folded his legs in a crossed position and balanced an elbow on one knee. He sat his chin in his palm, his other hand drawing shapes in the dirt. “A mother’s rage and all that jazz. When you think about it, we’re like, all her children just killing each other, Cain and Abel style.”

The thunder boomed again, and the rain fell harder.

“She might be right,” Leo murmured. “She’s justified to be bitter after all we’ve done to her. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, kind of thing. Maybe pushing us here was to help us realize that. Like, this isn’t even the worst of it, because she’s still furious.”

Jason frowned. He didn’t know where Leo was going with this. Some of it… _did_ appeal to him. He didn’t have a mom, but the thought of having a mother fighting back for his sake- it unwittingly made him feel warm and loved. A peck on the cheek. A simple _are you okay?_ To be loved and protected like that… Jason pushed away the thoughts.

“Leo, get some sleep,” Jason replied. Leo peered at him questioningly. Jason gave him a smile. “You haven’t slept since we got here. Your mind’s tired. I can handle the first watch.”

Leo considered this, and then, gradually, he curled up on the ground by Nemea. Jason found himself subconsciously moving closer to feel Leo’s radiating warmth. “Don’t do anything dumb,” Leo yawned at him, and Jason laughed.

“I promise I won’t.”

When he was assured Leo was asleep, Jason let out a breath. He was exhausted as well. Not in the same way- being in Tartarus was taking a toll on his body. Jason flicked his fingers to a pile of rubble. A mini-tornado flew from his fingertips but dissipated before it could move any of the rocks. Jason could barely do _party_ tricks. He was fortunate to be able to fly. He didn’t want to know how long a Jupiter son would last in a place like this.

Jason gazed at the other two. Leo wasn’t the best at fighting. He was strategic and quick, both with his mind and on his feet, but he severely lacked strength. Jason should’ve spent more time training Leo when they were at Camp Half-Blood. He didn’t even have a weapon. Jason knew better than to worry about Leo- his best friend has saved his life more times than Jason can count- but still. He couldn’t help it.

Jason cursed, and thunder rolled out. With Leo’s chatter gone, and the only noise being the rain, Jason was surrounded by silence. He didn’t realize it earlier, but Tartarus was surprisingly... lonely. It was a desolate wasteland filled with nothing but dread.

He pondered if what Leo suggested was true- Tartarus was crying. If Jason was this place, he would grieve too.

* * *

It rained for days. They weren’t exactly sure, but that’s what Leo told him, but it was a mere guess. Jason trusted it because Leo was typically good at numbers (bad at time, but Jason ignored that).

So. It was mid-July, then.

Nemea seemed to enjoy running out in the rain and racing back in. He also ate a _lot_ of tofu. Jason couldn’t blame him. After watching the monsters devour each other, but only for their meal to dissipate in ichor, Jason would want to eat something else too.

Jason busied himself, trying to think of a plan. They were going to the Doors of Death obviously, and the deeper they moved in Tartarus, the more Jason was sure they were heading the right way. Nico mentioned something about cutting the chains- Jason was sure he’d know them when he saw them. He didn’t know what was occurring in the upper world, but he hoped the rest of the Seven of the Prophecy could handle it.

It was funny- Jason hardly talked to most of them, and now it’s all he wanted to do. He wanted to laugh with Percy and Frank, chatter with Hazel, and discuss strategy with Annabeth. And Piper…. the three of them; Jason, Leo, and Piper haven’t been separated in months. Maybe that’s part of the torture of being here. Losing connection with their entire world.

_To storm or fire, the world must fall_. Leo could’ve been right. Their world.

Meanwhile, Leo took it up with himself to mess with his Archimedes Sphere. Jason didn’t understand it, and half the time, he was sure that neither did Leo. The son of Hephaestus would stare at it like a puzzle, fuss a bit, and glare when nothing happened. It was an amusing process to watch, cute even, but quickly, Jason grew bored. He had half a mind to ask Leo to pull out a pack of cards from his toolbelt.

It wasn’t completely silent. Jason only noticed it during the moments where the rain calmed. Humming through Tartarus was the incessant wailing and moans of the damned. He must’ve gotten used to the noise, but once he was aware of it, that was _all_ Jason could hear. For some reason, it brought up incomprehensible memories of his mom. As lacking as those were. 

Eventually, the rain did let up, and they went lower into Tartarus. After their few days of rest, Jason felt better than he had in a while. They were only attacked a few times, but with a quick slice, the monsters weren’t that big of a deal.

After hitting another _telekhine_ , Leo looked up in the air. “Did you hear that?”

“What?” Jason brushed his clothes off.

“A voice,” Leo muttered. He glared at the ground. “Huh.”

“Are you hearing something?”

“No,” Leo scrubbed at his eyes. He frowned and rubbed his bare arms. “There’s something following us, though.”

Jason began to move faster. “Come on, let’s keep moving then.”

It became apparent, maybe half a mile later, that there was _indeed_ something following them. Jason felt the wind around him turn chilly, and static kiss his skin. It terrified him actually- the electricity that was filling the air was scaring _him_. It was foreign. Leo didn’t seem to notice it.

Jason watched the sky. Black clouds. No sign of a storm. They continued moving.

* * *

“How long until we hit the doors?” Leo dangled another piece of tofu in front of Nemea. They decided to rest by a wispy black tree. It offered no shade, it’s gnarled branches reaching upward for a nonexistent sun. The bark was tough like rope and curled like licorice. Leo had joked that it looked like an old uncle’s unibrow, and they thought about that for a moment, and stopped the coversation.

“I’m not sure.”

“Oh,” Leo drank from one of the Gatorade bottles, his wounds disappearing. He passed it to Jason. “So like, a few days or _weeks-_ ”

“I don’t know.”

“Ugh.”

Nemea’s tail flicked up, and he bounced to his feet. The lion slowly stalked away from them, head to the sky, sniffing and watching. Returning the bottle back to his toolbelt, Leo pushed off the tree. “What’s the kitty doing now?”

Jason pursed his lips. “I didn’t know I was a zoologist now.”

“Alright, you’re a little funny for that one,” Leo patted his shoulder. They watched Nemea lunge up at nothing, then dart around in a circle. He leaped again, mouth biting at the air, jagged teeth glaring. “Weird,” Leo muttered at Jason’s side, tone more serious. He dropped his head on Jason’s shoulder. “Something’s happening, isn’t it.”

“Most likely,” Jason pulled on his sword.

Leo sighed and then groaned into Jason’s shirt. His hot breath was a welcome change to the static Jason had been feeling. “Okay, I _guess_ we should survive today,” Leo stepped aside. From his toolbelt, he pulled out the familiar Archimedes Sphere. “Who’s the big meanie of the day? Hope they show their ugly face soon.”

“ _Leo_ ,” Jason warned, grip tightening.

“I’m tired of walking around here getting attacked all the time,” Leo said. He waved his sphere at the sky, fingers still moving. “Come get it ugly!”

“I AM NOT UGLY!” A voice boomed from nowhere. Then, Nemea was flung across the sand, and a wind began to pick up. A small tornado whirled together, bits of rocks and glass racing to wrap up in its cyclone. The storm rippled through the air, stained red with blood. Jason didn’t even know where the blood came from- until he felt the sting of the minor cuts littering his body.

“Oh my god! Not you again!” Leo yelled. “DON’T YOU HAVE OTHER PEOPLE TO BOTHER?”

“Shut up,” The voice echoed again, and a hand came out from the center of the wind. It swiped and a blast of glass shards flew at Leo. Leo rolled away, but when he looked up, his face was bleeding.

The tornado touched the ground, and in its place was a familiar boy with black wings, cowboy boots, and a jersey. His blue eyes glared at them, scorned.

“Dylan,” Jason groaned. “Why are you here?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” The _venti_ chuckled. He flung out his hand, and a bolt of lightning sped at Jason. It smacked his chest, sending Jason staggering back, but he kept his ground. Dylan scowled. “Crap. I forgot about that-”

Jason slashed at the monster. Dylan laughed, going back and forth between his wind and human form, as Jason sliced away. Leo yelled something from behind him, and Jason dropped low. A plastic water bottle knocked Dylan in the forehead.

Jason glanced back at Leo. “Really?”

“Whoops. I thought that was a hammer.”

Dylan’s lower half began to swirl into a dark storm. Now pissed, Dylan’s body crackles with lightning as he rose from the ground. Jason mentally groaned. He didn’t know how high he would be able to fly this time. He vaulted off, flying after the monster.

“Did she send you _again?_ ” Jason grunted as Dylan blasted bolt after bolt. His head was starting to spin, limbs feeling unsteady. He’d never gotten height-sick before, and yet, he was ready to fall out.

“No. She wants you unharmed- but this is personal,” Dylan smirked. In his hands, he materialized a sword crackling with white lightning. Dylan lunged, Jason’s entire body tickling by the mere sight. He threw up his gladius against it.

That was a mistake. Gold conducts electricity.

The voltage sailed up his arms, snapping at his nerves that felt like a billion explosions underneath his skin. Biting back the pain, Jason lashed out again. Dylan countered just as quickly. The storm clouds drew near, a black abyss forming around them. Jason heard the screech of something else and saw gray blurs flying at them.

One of them, cold and straight-faced, began to claw at Dylan. He yelled in confusion, attracting more of the winged monsters.

He dove back to the ground. Leo was holding a ball, the size of an orange. “There’s more coming,” Jason told him. “Dylan’s busy right now, but he won’t be for long.” Jason took a step toward Leo, but then he collapsed. Leo ran to his side. Nemea hopped around, growling at the brewing fight.

“You okay?” He helped Jason up to his feet. “I can put you on Nemea, and we’ll run to the caves.”

“No,” Jason pushed off of him. “I can do this.”

“Jason.” Leo grabbed his hand. He was still bleeding, his eyes wide and frantic. “We’re a team, dude. Don’t go killing yourself over a freak-”

_SLAM!_ The sand arced skyward as Dylan’s body hit the ground. Jason’s hands flew up to cover his face from the glass. Following the impact, the grey beings flew down, circling the teenagers.

“Furies?” Leo asked, body crouching. The ball in his hand started to vibrate. “I think I have a plan.”

“Does it involve us living?”

“Fifty-fifty.”

“Those are terrible odds.”

“You said they were better than nothing!” Leo’s eyes darted around the not-Furies. There were five of them, spinning around them, eyes blank. Dylan was beginning to get back up. “Okay, you get douche-face, and I’ll get the bats.”

Jason weakly shifted his position, ignoring his howling muscles. “What are you thinking-”

“Close your eyes this time,” Leo snapped. “I’m not having you die again.”

“ _What-_ ”

“NOW!” Leo smashed the ball to the ground, and Jason’s eyelids fluttered closed. Even with them closed, he could see the bright light go off, a white nothingness glaring into his eyeballs. He opened his eyes when it faded, the monsters stunned and shrieking on their knees. The Archimedes Sphere returned to its state, and Leo scooped it up as he ran. He threw Jason a look, his hands lighting up on fire- Jason blinked at the color.

Green fire. A glimmering and wicked emerald tint, the same exact kind as the uncontrollable flickers of the inextinguishable Greek fire. Jason shuddered, bewildered. Had Leo always been able to do that?

“What are you waiting for?” Leo blasted the Furies. “Get the cowboy!”

Dylan was staggering to his feet, enraged. His fingers crackled with white lightning, his expression murderous. He glared at Leo, wobbling and raising his hand. Jason's body moved on instinct. He dashed as the bolt flew, twisting his body to reach. His sword absorbed the lightning, and Jason swung like a baseball bat, sending the electricity back.

Red lightning launched from Jason’s gladius, the energy striking Dylan in the chest. He screamed, crumbling to the ground, unmoving. Jason sank to the floor. Leo’s fire encircled him, the Furies crying out as they burned. The green flames licked at Jason’s body, eager to consume him.

Then, there were light movements on Jason’s face. Leo was back, with an indiscernible look. His face was bruised, the right side smeared with blood. He peeled away Jason’s sword from a white-knuckled grip, bringing him back to his feet. “Jason, let’s go. Can you fly us out?”

Jason swayed. The fire didn’t look to be stopping, raising at high altitudes. The tree they had been resting on earlier was entirely on fire. The green light cast sinister shadows across Leo’s face.

“Jason,” There was Leo’s voice again, and Jason felt reassured. He was… grounding. “Come on, man, don’t make me slap you.”

“I’m here,” Jason wrapped his arm around Leo’s waist. He pushed the last of his efforts out, and the two of them cannoned out of the ring of fire. They soared as far as Jason’s lasting energy could take them. He flew mindlessly, just wanted to get away from that bright light. He sputtered, like a car out of gas, and they rolled into the sand.

Jason stared up at the carmine sky, wheezing. He couldn’t feel anything but a body-numbing pain. Being a demigod meant they were able to go past the limits… but that didn’t apply in Tartarus. He was feeling every single nick and bruise on his body.

Something wet and rough lapped at his body. Jason weakly lifted his head and then sighed in relief. It was just Nemea. He wondered if the lion would now develop a taste for blood the way he did with tofu.

A groan. Leo groaned again from where he laid on the ground. He slowly sat up, snorting when Nemea pounced on him. “Alright there,” Leo’s nose scrunched up and moved the lion’s own nose away.

He pulled out a Gatorade bottle, drinking some. Jason watched as Leo’s body twisted to right itself. His body shuddered. Leo grunted and turned to Jason. He crawled over, lifting Jason’s head to pour some of the healing fire down his throat.

Jason’s wounds mended, but the fire scorched his throat. He kept lying down. His body might be healing, but his energy was completely depleted. Slipping the bottle away, Leo murmured, “Two out of three.” He sighed, fingers tugging at a tear on Jason’s sleeve.

They stayed in silence for a while. Nemea slept, body curved around them, Leo’s head resting on the lion’s stomach. Jason took shallow breaths. The tightness in his chest constricted his breathing, but he wasn’t going to let Leo worry.

He spoke, lips chapped, and tongue dry. “Do you have any food?”

Leo’s eyes never left him. “...Yeah. What are you in the mood for?”

They settled on Poptarts and cold sausages. Jason sat up, and the sound of the crinkling wrappers echoed through the pit of hell. They ate quietly, watching for any more monsters. Based on the lightening sky, Jason assumed it to be some sort of sunrise.

“Dylan sucks,” Leo said suddenly. He looked surprised that he broke the silence. “Sorry. That was out loud.”

“Dylan definitely sucks,” Jason bit into his pop tart. “I can’t believe he followed us to hell.”

“Monsters are stronger here, and we’re pretty weak, so it’s a pretty good plan,” Leo pointed out. “I’m surprised more hasn’t come out to get us.”

“Well, that’s optimistic.”

Leo fished some stray glass out of his leg. “I wish you mentioned that you shoot sprites. I thought Dylan was killing you with some freaky blood magic or something.”

“Sprites?”

“Red lightning. I watched a documentary on it once.”

“I didn’t know,” Jason deadpanned. “You didn’t tell me about the Greek fire.”

“I didn’t.” Leo clammed up, and he pulled out the Archimedes sphere again. 

Jason moved to sit in front of Leo. He pushed the sphere out of the way, the magical object warm under his skin. 

“Leo,” He said. “Talk to me.”

Leo rolled his eyes. “There’s nothing to talk about.” He held out his hand, and a green flame danced across his palm. “It’s just green.” Jason held out his hand next to Leo’s, his palm opening up, and red static flickering from his fingertips. “And yours is red. That’s all there is to it.”

“There has to be a reason,” Jason closed his hand into a fist. He chided himself for not noticing earlier. 

Leo’s flame flourished, and he curled his fingers close. “It’s just Tartarus messing with us.”

“It feels wrong.”

“I know.”

Jason shuddered. “It’s like this place is polluting us and making us evil.” That word made Leo flinch, and his lips moved to mutter something. “What? Did I say something wrong?”

“No,” Leo sighed, and dropped the Archimedes Sphere next to him. “You just reminded me of something.”

“Something…” Jason trailed off.

“Something my aunt used to say to me,” Leo rubbed his face. When he drew his hands away, he stared at the faint stains of blood on his fingers. “Dang. I didn’t know it was that bad.” He glanced up at Jason. “It’s worse than it feels. What’s that on your neck?”

“My neck?” Jason touched the skin and hissed. The son of Hephaestus hesitantly reached out and touched the surface lightly. He cursed under his breath.

“What?”

Leo’s finger trailed the area. “It’s a burn. I thought it would’ve healed with the firewater. That’s weird. I- shi- fuc- I’m sorry, Jason. That was such a stupid plan.”

Jason’s hand caught Leo’s, guiding it away from the tender injury. Jason cupped Leo’s hand. “It doesn’t hurt that much. Don’t stress about it, Leo. You can’t control when your fire does that.” That made Leo scowl.

“I won’t use it, then,” Leo muttered.

“It’s fine,” Jason hopelessly reassured him. “I know you didn’t mean it.” He rubbed Leo’s hand, and Leo snatched it away. 

“Leo-”

“I’m going to sleep,” Leo announced, turning away. He laid down, close to Nemea, apart from Jason. Jason, at a loss as to what was happening, stared. When it became pretty clear that Leo was going to fall asleep- or at least ignore Jason until he actually did- Jason made a face and went about picking the glass out of his skin.

* * *

It was irksome. They already got rid of Dylan, or at least left him to burn. Jason had a feeling that those creatures were still burning where they left them. He didn’t bring it up with Leo, however, since he seemed sensitive over it.

Despite their Dylan encounter, Jason still felt like they were being followed. He stopped in his tracks. Leo paused, looking tired and ticked. “What now?”

Jason frowned. “Maybe we should find our way back to the river.” When he flew them away from the chaos, he lost track of where their healing river of fire was. It shouldn’t be hard to find, considering it’s a river of lava. “In case we encounter trouble.”

“Of course we’ll encounter trouble. We _are_ trouble,” Leo stepped into a gooey sac where a monster was growing. He seemed to like doing that. “What’s the plan then, Supes?”

The nickname made Jason feel relieved. So they were still cool. “I can fly up and see if it’s nearby.”

“And the Fury things?” Leo gestured at the sky. Nemea crawled around Jason’s legs, wet nose rubbing against his knee. 

“I don’t think they’re furies.” Jason answered. Besides a few black clouds, the sky was the murky red-color he’s grown to expect. “But there doesn’t look to be a few. I’ll be a few minutes.”

Leo thought it over. His fingers tugged at the hem of his Camp Half-Blood shirt. It was streaked with blood, his or Jason’s, some of it charred on the edges, other parts smudged with dirt and sweat. Still, the black letter and design shone brightly. 

“Okay,” Leo decided. He gave Jason an uneasy lop-sided grin. “Don’t die.”

“I’ll try not to,” Jason laughed, and with a steady start, he flew upwards. 

He couldn’t go that far, actually. It was the first time he’s flown alone and so high in Tartarus- except Jason was typically able to go _much_ higher. Here, the corrosive atmosphere held vapors that burrowed toxins into Jason’s lungs and flesh. Any higher than about 70 feet, and Jason started to choke. 

Tartarus was endless. Everything was grey and red blurs to him. The ground was writhing with black specks crawling around, and giant mountains and caves bulged out to him. He squinted, looking around for a squiggly red line. It was easy enough, bright, and glaring against the grey. 

Jason was about to come down when something flickered between a nearby mountain range. He squinted. It couldn’t be.

“Found it?” Leo asked when he came down. He was pointing a laser pointer to a monster bubbling up until Nemea slapped his paws on the red dot. The creature in the sac disintegrated into gold. 

Jason touched down in front of Leo. Leo paled, reaching for Jason’s shoulder. “What’s wrong, man? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Or like, a really bad guy.”

“I did.”

Leo slapped his shoulder. “Spit it out, man! I’m dying of suspense.”

Jason shivered. They _were_ being followed. He should’ve known better. He reached for his gladius.

“Whoa, whoa-” Leo jumped back. “Was it really that bad?”

Jason pointed eastward. “The river isn’t that far that way, and there’s a lot of monsters heading South. That’s probably where the doors are. Do you think you can run to the river?”

“Jason, you _need_ to calm down.” Leo grabbed the hand on Jason’s hilt. Slowly, Jason relaxed, his hand being tugged away. “We’ve managed to get this far through hell together, so I’m not going to let my best friend risk it all in some last-ditch effort to save me or whatever heroic stunt you’re trying to pull.” 

His hand was warm. Jason pulled his hand away but sheathed his sword. At that, Leo took a breath. “We’re in this together. No leaving each other behind or anything. Promise?” He held up his fist. “Don’t leave me hanging.” He paused. “Or behind.”

Jason stared at that fist for what seemed like an eternity. Then he smiled to himself and bumped fists. “Promise. I won’t leave you behind.” 

Leo nodded. Then his eyes lit up. “Oh wait. There’s a way for me to make sure that you _definitely_ won’t do that. You have such a hero complex that I can’t believe you,” He stuck his hand out, fingers wiggling. Leo opened his mouth, and Jason tensed by how the world grew quiet, and Leo looked thoughtful. “I swear on the Styx that I won’t leave you, and you won’t leave me. You gotta do it too, and we’ll shake on it.”

Jason flinched. “That’s a big promise.”

“It shouldn’t be,” Leo’s eyes dared him to grab his hand. “ _Would_ you leave me?”

“Never,” Jason said immediately. His hand wavered. “ _An oath to keep with a final breath_.”

“We don’t know what that means.”

“Leo…”

“Fine,” Leo’s hand started to retreat, “I’ll just promise by myself, and _that’ll_ be the oath-”

“ _Jeez, Leo!”_ Jason lunched forward, grabbing his hand. “I swear on the Styx.” They squeezed each other’s hands, a moment of silence. Then- they both hissed and pulled away. 

“Did you _shock_ me?” Leo whined, flapping his hand around. Jason stared at the small burn on the meaty part of his palm. Leo stopped hopping around and bumped his shoulder against Jason’s. “So now that’s done, whose butt are we going to kick?”

Jason gazed at the mountains where he had seen the shine of a helmet. A helmet he knew _all_ too well. He gritted his teeth. “Krios.”

Leo looked at him, dumbly. “ _Who?”_

“A titan I killed,” Jason explained. “Not the easiest kill either, and that’s when he was rising… if he’s been down here this entire time-”

“Then he’s probably got old rickety bones and is going to be a blast,” Leo grinned at him. He raised his hands in the air like he was showing Jason an imaginary sign. “Picture this: Jason Grace and Leo Valdez, titan-slayers. Now _that’s_ a bumper sticker.”

Despite knowing the situation, Jason cracked a smile. He was eternally grateful that Leo was stuck here with him. “It’s not that easy- especially not here.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Leo flicked on his laser pointer, and Nemea rushed to the dot. “It’ll be a piece of cake. A giant Titan-sized cake.”

“I like cake,” Jason said, amusedly.

“I bet you do,” Leo snorted. “Relax, Jason. It’s you and me- we got this.”

This, Jason did not know. However, with the way Leo looked at him and said it, Jason couldn’t help but agree happily. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LMAO i forgot leo not being at calypso's meant there was no oath omg, so i had to make one and THAT was why it took so long to write this. like three hours writing that one line. i'm so sad haha... "i swear that i won't leave you and you won't leave me" this is FUNNY if its in the canon universe cause like 💀 jason sacrificing himself and him coming back to a dead Jason is such delicious torture, but so is Jason spending all his time KNOWING Leo is still alive and never finding him hahaha. wild
> 
> anyway jason's chapter was more of an intro into tartarus and setting up some of the main pieces :) ... the way i actually need to reread the house of hade in order to continue this in any way is 😔

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading :)
> 
> my tumblr is @[bunkernine](https://bunkernine.tumblr.com/). feel free to leave thoughts/questions/feelings down below or in my ask box :)))
> 
> have a good one!!! :D


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